In hindsight, I kind of wish I'd opted for the BDO Bardic course instead of the OBOD one. I have mixed feelings about the OBOD course so far, and the BDO one is cheaper... Maybe I'll do the BDO course eventually too 🤔 /|\
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I think commiting to a paid druidry course was good for me, and gave me a push to start actually deepening my connection with the natural world. But I get the feeling that pretty much any order's course would have had the same effect, as long as it was a formal course with fees attached.
John the Verbose created this amazing list of Teaching Orders, including a detailed analysis of the differences & similarities between their offerings. In case it helps: https://minnesotadruids.tumblr.com/post/
663354639271542784/druid-orders-organizations-list
From OBOD: …it is here, in the Ovate grade, that the work with trees, herbs, plants and animals begins. The Ovates were the Druidic Seers, so it is within the forest that you begin to work with the skills of divination, healing, and the magic of the Earth.
The Bardic grade establishes the basics of the rituals and the eight seasonal ceremonies. It’s prescriptive now as you learn but you will have more flexibility later to adapt the training to your needs and build on it.
I'm just curious (because how people find spiritual connection to nature is my thing) - what are you hoping to get from a druidry order/course that is missing from OBOD? I'm AODA and don't know much about the choices in the UK other than OBOD.
I was hoping for more focus on nature tbh - in fact I wish it was more like the AODA curriculum! I love AODA's focus on making druidry specific to the person's ecoregion. I'm about a third of the way through OBOD Bardic, and so far it's more psychology-focused that nature-focused.
I've completed all the OBOD training and glad I did. Each grade is different and each sets the foundation for the next. Bardic grade wasn't my favorite either, but it's needed for Ovate and Druid. It all comes together! /|\
Ah, that's interesting. It's a shame we're not allowed to discuss exactly what's in the courses, because I'd love to see a breakdown of what's in the OBOD Ovate grade. I've been told it's more nature-based than Bardic, but that's a low bar to clear 😅
All I can say is to stick with it. About four lessons into Druid grade, it suddenly clicked together, and I realized how brilliantly the entire instruction plan had been constructed.
That was why I chose AODA over OBOD when I started, although I was initially torn because my dad was born in the UK and I started out looking for something that felt connected to that ancestry as well. AODA has turned out to be a good balance of both. I hope you find what you need on your path.
Yes! I think commiting to a paid course gave me the push I needed to start really putting effort into my druidry practice, but I am pretty much doing my own thing in terms of what that practice actually looks like
sure, I get that, I suppose my thinking was that modern druidry courses present a relatively coherent body of Celtic myth, whereas the sources themselves are far more diverse and nebulous, we have licence to choose our own body of myth
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https://minnesotadruids.tumblr.com/post/
663354639271542784/druid-orders-organizations-list